Category: Bronzers

Charlotte Tilbury x Norman Parkinson Filmstar Bronze & Glow ($80.00 for 0.54 oz.) is a cream-based bronzer and highlighter. Both shades had a really slick, almost greasy feeling to them, which will make them more forgiving even on drier skin types, but I found that it made it hard to get the product to really stay where it was applied and resulted in patchy, more uneven coverage overall. It was shorter-wearing, and the higher slip in the texture made these better suited for bare skin or applied over still-damp base products.

Sun Light (Filmstar Glow) is as softened, light-medium gold with bronze tones and lighter gold pearl. It had semi-sheer color payoff that applied with a soft sheen that didn’t emphasize the skin’s natural texture. The emollient consistency made it harder to apply without also moving everything underneath it, so it is a product best applied with fingertips-patted on–if applying over foundation or better yet, used over bare skin. It started to break down after five and a half hours on me. Becca Opal (P, $38.00) is darker. Becca Opal (P, $38.00) is darker. Laura Geller Gilded Honey (P, $24.00) is more shimmery. Josie Maran Argan Enlightenment (Original) (P, $26.00) is darker. See comparison swatches/ compare dupes side-by-side.

The Colorful Blush formula is supposed to be long-wearing, buildable, and have a lightweight texture. My experience with the formula has shown that they’re soft, lightly powdery at times (some are worse than others) with semi-sheer to semi-opaque color coverage that blends fairly well and lasts seven to eight hours. There is some variance between shades, but there are some gems in the range. Passionate is a soft, smooth, and very blendable on the skin with a luminous sheen that doesn’t emphasize pores but doesn’t look flat on the skin–glowing but not frosted. It had semi-sheer to semi-opaque, buildable coverage, as described, and it lasted for a solid eight hours on me.

P.S. — You may be seeing some inconsistency in photo sizes in the next week or two, as we will be increasing the size of our images, but photos that were already processed earlier will be in the previous size. Thanks for understanding 🙂

See more photos & swatches!

Giorgio Armani No. 18 Fluid Sheer ($62.00 for 1.0 fl. oz.) is a rich, medium-dark coppery red with lighter gold sparkle. It had sheer coverage, which gives the skin a tint of color and a dewy sheen. A little went a long way, so you can achieve a stronger tint if desired. The sparkle in this shade made it harder to blend over foundation, as it seemed prone to disturbing anything underneath it, but it worked without issue on bare skin. I noticed a few bits of sparkle migrated over night as well, which isn’t a problem I’ve had with other shades in the range. The color itself wore for nine hours. NARS Na Pali Coast (P, $39.00) is less shimmery, more pigmented. MAC Pleasure Model (LE, $25.00) is more shimmery, more pigmented, warmer. Illamasqua Supernatural (P, $24.00) is more shimmery, lighter. Becca Rose Gold (P, $38.00) is more shimmery, lighter. Becca Blushed Copper (LE, $38.00) is more muted, more pigmented. NARS Fervor (Right) (P, ) is darker, more pigmented. NARS Mauritanie (LE, $39.00) is less shimmery. Becca Papaya/Topaz (P, $27.00) is more shimmery, darker, more pigmented, warmer. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

FORMULA SUMMARY | Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer ($62.00 for 1.0 fl. oz.) is available in fifteen shades that range from sheer beige to sheer yellow to sheer copper. The formula is supposed to “dress skin in an illuminating veil of radiance.” It’s designed to be sheer, though some shades are more buildable than others, and in general, the darker hued shades are going to appear more pigmented and can be used as highlighting blushes or even as blushes (depending on your skin tone) — the brand actually calls out it can be used as “an eyeshadow base, blush, or bronzer” as well as your typical highlighter. It can be used alone, mixed with base products (like foundation, primer, or moisturizing). Some shades are glittery, others are shimmery, and others have very fine shimmer. Alone, I tend to get seven to eight hours of wear with lighter, shimmery shades and closer to ten hours or longer with some of the bolder shades, and it doesn’t seem to impact the wear of my base products (either shortening or lengthening the wear). I like fingertips or a duo-fiber/stippling brush for application using a patting and dabbing motion rather than a lot of sweeping, then a light buffing to diffuse and blend out the edges.

Giorgio Armani No. 14 Fluid Sheer ($62.00 for 1.0 fl. oz.) is a coppery bronze with lighter gold shimmer. It had finer shimmer, but it had a lot of shimmer, so the overall effect was dewy and frosted on the skin. The sheerer nature of the coverage made it less prone to emphasizing the skin’s natural texture, but if you build up the color, it can emphasize pores. The consistency was lightweight, thin, and blendable on the skin without disturbing base products but also could be worn alone. It may be a little too shimmery for some if mixed in with a base product, but it will add a general warmth, sheen, and shimmer when mixed. On me, this shade wore for ten hours before fading slightly. Tarte Park Ave Princess (P, ) is less shimmery, darker, more muted, cooler. Colour Pop Avalon (P, $8.00) is more shimmery, darker. L’Oreal Golden (P, $12.99) is more shimmery, lighter. Becca Topaz (P, $38.00) is darker, more pigmented, cooler. Bobbi Brown Bronze Glow (LE, $45.00) is more shimmery, more muted. Becca Topaz (P, $38.00) is more shimmery, darker, more pigmented. Becca Topaz (P, $41.00) is cooler. Disney by Sephora Golden Sands (LE, $55.00) is more shimmery, darker. See comparison swatches / compare dupes side-by-side.

FORMULA SUMMARY | Giorgio Armani Fluid Sheer ($62.00 for 1.0 fl. oz.) is available in fifteen shades that range from sheer beige to sheer yellow to sheer copper. The formula is supposed to “dress skin in an illuminating veil of radiance.” It’s designed to be sheer, though some shades are more buildable than others, and in general, the darker hued shades are going to appear more pigmented and can be used as highlighting blushes or even as blushes (depending on your skin tone) — the brand actually calls out it can be used as “an eyeshadow base, blush, or bronzer” as well as your typical highlighter. It can be used alone, mixed with base products (like foundation, primer, or moisturizing). Some shades are glittery, others are shimmery, and others have very fine shimmer. Alone, I tend to get seven to eight hours of wear with lighter, shimmery shades and closer to ten hours or longer with some of the bolder shades, and it doesn’t seem to impact the wear of my base products (either shortening or lengthening the wear). I like fingertips or a duo-fiber/stippling brush for application using a patting and dabbing motion rather than a lot of sweeping, then a light buffing to diffuse and blend out the edges.

The compact is oversized, so you’ll have plenty of powder to go through (perhaps half a lifetime!) and the majority of the shimmer is an overspray, but there is some gold shimmer that seems to run through the underlying powder as well (I brushed away all of the overspray prior to swatching/testing)–just a much subtler sheen than an overt shimmer as it appears in the pan. The texture was fairly soft and blendable on the skin, and the color payoff was semi-opaque and buildable, but it seemed a little drier than other Terracotta bronzing powders I’ve tried. On me, it wore for almost eight hours before fading slightly. I expect that this is going to be too orange for some, though. The biggest takeaway from this review should be that this is heavily scented with the brand’s tiare flower-based fragrance, which is very, very strong. I can leave the compact open for five minutes, leave the room, and I can smell it wafting just outside the doorway. I’m always excited to remove this, as the scent lingers for hours and hours and essentially feels like I’m eating perfume all day long.

See more photos & swatches!

Last year, Giorgio Armani Maestro Bronzer ($64.00 for 1.0 fl. oz.) launched in Sun Kiss (100), which I really loved as a formula. It was limited edition, but this summer, it’s back along with two more shades (one lighter and one darker) and seems to be permanent. I remember last year that I wished for a rosier and deeper shade for darker skin tones, and now we have one lighter and darker! The formula is thin, almost watery, with a velvety feel that has a more satin finish to it–if you’ve tried the Maestro line at all, the texture is very in line with the rest of the range. It sits extremely well on the skin, whether bare or over/under foundation, and it blends out easily and lasts for nine to ten hours. The only thing I’m not keen on is the packaging, which uses a dropper to dispense the product. One bottle contains a mega-ton of bronzer, so it’ll take a long time to get through a bottle, and I’d rather a half-size option for $40 or so instead (same with the brand’s Fluid Sheers).